


Something Strange...in the Neighborhood

by Grandmungus



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Parallel Universes, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grandmungus/pseuds/Grandmungus
Summary: Ollie is sure he’ll admit, when he looks back on this in a few days or whatever, when he needs a story to tell someone at a party, that an abandoned and ‘supposedly haunted’ sanatorium in Massachusetts is one of the most cliche horror movie set ups out there. Like, you’ve got to be joking, right? The only way it could be any more cliche would be to slap it down in Connecticut and add in some paranormal investigators, like Ed and Lorraine Warren or something.Yet, here he is, with his best friend Wicky, in the middle of the woods just outside Samwell. It’s pitch dark, cell service is non-existent, and the only things they have are backpacks with some water bottles, a flashlight, a flare gun that Lardo happened to have in her room back at the Haus and a stuffed shark Chowder insisted they take to provide ‘good vibes’.
Relationships: Ollie O'Meara/Pacer Wicks
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Something Strange...in the Neighborhood

“Ollie, dude, we’re SCREWED if anyone catches us out here.” Wicky whispers, his voice practically a hiss as he dares not to pierce the silent night air.

“Wicky, dude, relax.” Ollie waves a hand at the other man, dismissing his concern. “This place has been abandoned for at LEAST a hot minute, no one’s been out here in, like, ever.”

“Or they HAVE, dude, and they just never came back.” 

“What, you scared, bro?” Ollie chuckles. He grins as Wicky huffs and crosses his arms.

“Fuck you. I’m just saying, the big barbed wire fences, the ‘NO TRESPASSING’ signs. Kind of adds up to us maybe not going in there, y’know, just in case there’s something going on we’re better off not knowing about.”

“You’ve been dipping into Zimmermann’s murder mystery documentaries too much, man.” 

“Gimme a break, dude. An abandoned sanatorium in the woods a few miles out of town from where we go to school...in New England?! This place is gonna be so fucking cursed, and if we die it’s your—"

Wicky stifles a yelp, nearly crashing into Ollie as the other man comes to a halt. 

“You hear that?” Ollie glances back at Wicky, voice barely above a whisper.

“Haha, real funny.” Wicky still has his arms crossed. Even in the dark, Ollie can tell he’s pouting.

“Wicky, bro, I’m serious.” 

Wicky uncrosses his arms in the blink of an eye, fumbles in the darkness, grabbing Ollie’s hand and squeezing it. “You better be fuckin’ with me.”

“Y-y’know what, yeah, it was probably, uh, a bird or something.” Ollie offers, doing his best to make it sound like he isn’t suddenly trying to convince BOTH of them at this point.

“Maybe we should...turn back?”

“And lose the bet to fucking Ransom and Holster? I would sooner die.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s not out of the realm of possibility at this point, dude.” Wicky swallows, squeezes Ollie’s hand again. He lets the breath out when Ollie squeezes back.

Ollie is sure he’ll admit, when he looks back on this in a few days or whatever, when he needs a story to tell someone at a party, that an abandoned and ‘supposedly haunted’ sanatorium in Massachusetts is one of the most cliche horror movie set ups out there. Like, you’ve got to be joking, right? The only way it could be any more cliche would be to slap it down in Connecticut and add in some paranormal investigators, like Ed and Lorraine Warren or something. 

Yet, here Ollie is, with his best friend, in the middle of the woods just outside Samwell. It’s pitch dark, cell service is non-existent, and the only things they have are backpacks with some water bottles, a flashlight, a flare gun that Lardo happened to have in her room back at the Haus and a stuffed shark Chowder insisted they take to provide ‘good vibes’. 

“Why did we even AGREE to that fucking bet?” Wicky whisper-shouts to get Ollie’s attention.

“How was I supposed to know Jack would know all the words to ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’, dude?” Ollie offers in defense. 

“Dude, Shania Twain is Canadian as fuck.”

“Yeah, but, Jack is so….Jack!” 

Wicky puts up a hand, shushing Ollie as the pair break through the treeline. The sanatorium sits a few yards or so away, settled firmly in a small clearing surrounded by a barbed wire fence. The walls are crumbling, tagged in graffiti and covered in assorted plant growth. 

“Tell me why we didn’t just follow the road?” Wicky gestures to the road running out of the roads and to the front of the building. 

“Dude, that’s how we get cops called on us.”

“Oh, but I thought, and I quote, ‘No one’s been out here in, like, ever’.” 

“Fuck off, you know what I meant.” Ollie waves a hand at Wicky, who flips him off with his free hand in response.

“I can’t believe you’d put your best friend, your teammate and the love of your life in a position like this!” Maybe a little dramatic, but Wicky feels his point still stands. 

“Wicky, babe, bro, you agreed to the bet with me.” 

Wicky rolls his eyes as they round a corner and stop in front of the fence. Ollie has a point, he did let himself get roped into this mess.

It’s obvious they aren’t the first pair to visit. There’s a large slash in the chain links, and the cut edges have reddened with rust from rain and age. It’s anyone’s guess how long the fence has been like this.

Wicky jumps when Ollie elbows him in the side gently to get his attention. “Dude!”

Ollie laughs, and Wicky flips him off before slipping through the gap in the fence. 

Wicky takes a few steps over to the wall of the sanatorium, reaches out and pokes the moss that is growing up the concrete. “Eugh, okay. All we have to do is go in, take a picture of us inside the building and then we can go, right?”

“Right.” Ollie nods. He rests a hand on the building’s wall. A sizable chunk is missing from the wall, it’s anybody’s guess HOW that happened, but it did leave a big enough opening for them to slip through. Ollie glances inside, pitch black. “Unless...you wanna look around a little bit after we do that.”

“Oh FUCK no. I’m not looking to get haunted tonight, dude.” Wicky shakes his head. “Get in, get out. Then we can go back and fuckin’ sleep.” 

“Go on in, then, dude.” Ollie gestures at the opening in the wall. He opens his backpack and fishes out the flashlight, making sure he pats the stuffed shark for luck before zipping the bag shut.

“Fuck that, you first.”

“Fine, we’ll go in together, then.” Ollie takes Wicky’s hand again, giving it a squeeze before pulling the man through to the other side of the wall. He clicks the flashlight on as they enter the building proper. He swipes it from side to side. 

The room is largely empty, save for an overturned desk in the corner with a broken chair resting on top of it. Ollie would guess the room was probably an office, or maybe some kind of consultation room.

“Okay, this place is DEFINITELY cursed as fuck. Let’s take a fucking picture and go.” Wicky practically begs.

“No way, let’s at least take a little look around.”

“Ollie, I love you, but PLEASE don’t make me look around this place.”

“Oh, c’mon dude. You can’t tell me you aren’t even a LITTLE curious.”

“Fuck, FUCK, okay, yeah, you’re right.” Wicky hesitates. He nods, quickly relenting. “Let’s look around a few rooms down here, take a picture, and then we can go back and rub it in Ransom and Holster’s faces.” 

Ollie laughs. “Fuck yeah! Let’s go see what’s up in this creepy ass place!”

Ollie tosses the flashlight to Wicky as they cross the room. He grabs the doorknob with his now empty hand, gives it a twist. They step out of the essentially empty room and into the hallway.

Something pulses through the air, Ollie’s stomach does a flip and he stops.

“Ollie?” 

“Oh, uh, just figuring out which way to go! We should go see the lobby, or, uh, whatever the fuck they call it in one of these places.”

Ollie gives a tug on Wicky’s hand, Wicky shines the flashlight in the same direction and they head off down the hall. A short trek has them stepping through an archway and into the lobby of the building. The room is large, empty. A crack in the wall allows the faintest amount of moonlight to trickle in and catch the dust floating in the air. 

Wicky shines the flashlight across the room, from the front door, over to a double doorway, and then to the stairs. “So, another empty fuckin’ room, huh. I know they say that curiosity killed the cat, but I didn’t think it was ‘cause it died of boredom.”

Ollie snorts, shaking his head. “Yeah. Maybe we should go check upstairs? That’s where the patient rooms would’ve been, right?”

“Oh, that is SO fucking cursed.” Wicky pauses. “Fuck it, if we were gonna get cursed it’s probably already happened, so one or two rooms couldn’t hurt. Wait, picture in the lobby first for the chucklefucks!” 

Ollie pulls Wicky in, wraps an arm around his shoulder as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Say ‘cheese’!”

Ollie clicks the screen, the shutter sound echoes through the empty room. 

“Okay, cool. Let’s go poke around a bit upstairs and then we-Ollie?”

Ollie groans, slips his phone in his pocket and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Damn, the dust in here, allergy season for real.”

“Yeah, it’s hella fucking dusty. You good?”

“Yeah, bro, solid. Let’s get check out upstairs!”

Ollie takes off for the staircase, and Wicky follows suit, shining the flashlight to light up their path. 

Dodging holes and loose boards, the trek up the stairs is brief. Ollie hits the landing first, and Wicky is right behind him. 

Wicky leans on Ollie’s shoulder and points the flashlight directly ahead. Something about the hallway in front of them makes him shiver.

“Sh-should we go into one of the rooms?” 

Ollie hesitates. “You said it yourself, we’ve probably already been cursed, and we’ve already trespassed this far...might as well look.”

“Okay.” Wicky reaches down, grabs Ollie’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “Maybe we can finally find a room with something, though?” 

Ollie chuckles. “You’re such a fuck, let’s go see what we can find.”

It isn’t until after poking into a few empty rooms that Ollie opens a door and they find a room that catches their attention. The mattress is bare, yellowed and stained from who knows what. The walls bear similar stains, the wallpaper shredded and peeling. There’s a table next to the bed, and a roll top desk on the opposite side of the room. Both made of wood, faded and coated in dust. An armchair sits in the corner, dirty, threadbare but otherwise in one piece. Moonlight pours in from the window. Stains and general wear from age aside, the room looks...remarkably intact. The presence of light and furniture contrasts starkly with the empty dark rooms surrounding it.

“Ollie, this room—”

“Something about this room feels weird.” Ollie finishes Wicky’s thought. 

“Should we—”

Ollie releases Wicky’s hand and steps in the room. “I wonder...”

“Ollie, dude, maybe we should call it here?”

“H-hang on, Wicky, I gotta…” 

Wicky reaches out to try and grab Ollie’s arm as he enters the room fully. 

Ollie crosses the room, making a bee line for the desk. He grabs the handle of the roll top, gives it a tug and opens it.

Wicky quirks an eyebrow, stepping into the room. The flashlight flickers and dies. “Okay, bro, we should—”

Wicky drops the flashlight as Ollie drops to his knees in his place in front of the desk. “Ollie!” 

“Hey, Wicky, you were right. This was a bad idea.”

“Wh-what did you—” Wicky is cut off, the feeling of getting kicked in the gut shoots through him with a grunt, and he drops to the ground.

“W-Wicky!” Ollie reaches out as he watches his boyfriend drop to his knees. He tries to move over to Wicky, tries to grab his hand. 

Ollie’s eyelids get heavy, the room grows dark. He watches Wicky close his eyes, slump to the ground. He lets out a breath, fighting against the gravity in the room as it pushes him to the floor. 

Ollie closes his eyes.

“H-hey! What are you two doing in here!”

Ollie wakes with a start at the sudden shouting. He takes a moment before he groans, exhaling and rubbing his eyes. Something gives him a shake and he swats out instinctively.

“Guys! Guys help!” 

Hang on a second, Ollie would recognize that voice anywhere.

“Dude, Chowder, you’re at, like, a nine right now, and could really bring it down to a three or four.” Ollie cracks his neck, stretching as he opens his eyes, squinting as the light from the windows of the Haus living room pours in.

“Wh-how do you know my name?! How did you GET in here?!” Chowder asks, and Ollie’s head nearly spins a full 360. Chowder takes a few steps back, holding a pillow up to his chest.

“What do you mean ‘how do I know your name’, Chow? We’re friends?”

“What?” Chowder tilts his head in confusion, lets the pillow he was holding drop to the floor. Ollie’s stomach does a weird flip he wasn’t anticipating. “I’ve never seen the two of you in my life?”

“What?” Ollie’s opportunity to return Chowder’s confused look. “We’ve been friends for months, dude!”

“Do you two even go here?”

Ollie opens his mouth to answer, but is interrupted as Shitty, Jack and Bitty rush into the living room. “Oh, thank god. Guys, Chowder is being weird, like he doesn’t recognize me and Wicky!”

“I’m not being weird! You two are literally just sleeping on our couch!”

“Why are we screaming?” Wicky tosses a hand in the air, running the other one through his hair. “I was having a great dream.”

“Sup, brahs?” Shitty shoves to the front of the small group at the entrance to the living room. “We’re happy to have you crash, open door policy and all, but we can’t have you upsetting one of the guys on the team.”

“Shitty, what? We literally spend the night ALL the time.” Wicky sits up straight, glancing over at Ollie before looking at Shitty. 

“Mmm, nope.” Shitty shakes his head. “I never forget a face that sleeps in this haus, I have for sure never seen the two of you before.”

“You can’t be serious, dude!” Ollie’s voice raises. “Did Ransom and Holster put you up to this because we made it back and clearly won their stupid bet?” 

Shitty raises an eyebrow, looking from the pair to Jack. “Your thoughts, brah?”

Jack offers a shrug. “No idea. You guys play for the baseball team or something?”

“As long as you aren’t lax bros, you’re good.” Shitty adds in.

“Dude, we’re teammates? I’m literally wearing a ‘Samwell Hockey’ hat RIGHT now.” Ollie spins his hat on his head, points to the logo on the front. “They DON’T sell this at the school store, I checked last time I thought I lost it.” 

“Dude, stealing shit from the team?” Shitty crosses his arms. “Not cool.”

“It’s mine?” Ollie shoots back, defensive. “I’ve had it since freshman orientation. Bitty, dude, you can’t stand there and not back me and Wicky up! We’re Class of 2017 bros!”

Bitty makes a noise, not expecting to be addressed. “Sorry, but I think y’all must have me confused for someone else.”

“Bullshit.” Wicky spits. “Here, we’ll prove it.”

Ollie nods, pulling out his phone. He opens his gallery and starts swiping through pictures. “Here, look. You, me and Wicky at the Winter Screw last year. Me and Dex working on his old deathtrap of a car, Wicky and Chowder at The Pond.” 

“Wow, that’s…” Bitty’s face twists in confusion. “Those pictures sure LOOK real.”

“Hey!” Chowder makes a noise, catching the attention of everyone in the room. He’s crouched over, going through Ollie’s backpack. “How did you steal this?!” 

Ollie makes a face as Chowder pulls the stuffed shark out of his bag and practically shoves it in his face.

“He barely ever leaves my dorm room, HOW did you get him?!”

“Chow, you gave it to me yesterday before Wicky and I went to that abandoned sanatorium for our bet with Rans and Holster. Said he would keep us safe.” 

“But I—”

“Okay, it’s clear SOMETHING is going on.” Shitty interrupts. “But it’s early and I’m STARVING. Maybe we have breakfast first, and THEN figure out what’s going on with our, uh, new friends?”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chowder frowns, clutching the shark to his chest. “How do we trust them?”

“Chow, do you want MORE pictures of us hanging out and being friends?” Ollie gestures to his phone, and Chowder leans in with the faintest hesitation. “I have a whole folder of just pictures we’ve all taken on roadies, the time we drew dicks on Holster’s face when he fell asleep during Mamma Mia, the time Wicky and I decided to embarrass you and Farmer and take pictures like we were your parents on prom night. Dude, we’re friends! We’re teammates, I swear on my fucking LIFE!” 

Chowder makes a noise, chews his lip. “I have no idea who you guys are.” He repeats, but Ollie can hear that he isn’t so convinced anymore. He hesitates before crouching and putting the stuffed shark back in Ollie’s bag, zipping it half way with a sigh. 

“Chowder, do you want to help me with pancakes?” Bitty offers, and Chowder perks up slightly, offers a nod as he moves to stand at Bitty’s side.

“Shits, go wake up Ransom and Holster, we’ll eat first and then figure this shit out.” Jack nudges Shitty before turning to address Ollie and Wicky. “You two, you can join us if you stay out of trouble.”

“Oh please.” Wicky smiles, bats his eyelashes. “Ollie and I are angels, we’re actually your favorites on the team, Cap.”

“The best forwards you’ve ever seen, actually. Your words, not ours.” Ollie nods before taking a moment to readjust his hat on his head.

Jack shakes his head, but can’t keep a chuckle from escaping. “Bittle, make a little bit extra so our guests can join us.”

Ollie gives Wicky a look, and the other man nods. “We’ll join you guys in a few, if that’s okay.”

“Take your time.” Jack shrugs. He gives the pair one last look before exiting the living room, leaving Ollie and Wicky alone on the couch in the Haus living room.

“Ollie.” Wicky starts once he’s sure they’re alone. “What the fuck is happening, bro?”

“Dude, do I look like I have a clue?” Ollie scoots closer to Wicky. “They’re either really committed to this joke, or—”

“Or?” 

“Something weird happened in that last room we went to inside that fucking abandoned asylum, dude.”

Wicky nods. “Yeah. How did we even get back to the Haus?”

“I-don’t know?” Ollie scratches the side of his head. “We went into that room, looked around and then…”

“Something?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember. And then we woke up here.”

Wicky shakes his head. “It doesn’t make sense! How did we just forget the rest of the night? And why doesn’t anyone remember us?”

Ollie sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose. “Something about this shit sure isn’t adding up.”

“Agreed.” Wicky nods. “Call me paranoid but I don’t exactly…” Wicky trails off, looking away from Ollie and out one of the windows.

“Hey, Pace.” Ollie leans over, tapping Wicky’s leg to get his attention. Wicky looks over with a noise, and Ollie holds up a fist. 

Wicky smiles, bumps his fist into Ollie’s. 

“I got your back, man, we’ve got each other if nothing else.”

Wicky hesitates, smile faltering. “Y-you don’t really think they forgot who we are, right?”

“No idea.” Ollie offers a weak shrug. “But I do have some things I’d like to look into...AFTER breakfast.”

“Care to let me in on the secret?” Wicky leans in. 

“I’m, uh, actually trying to form the words, still...” Ollie shakes his head. He doesn’t want to put the thoughts into words, but he can tell both he and Wicky don’t really trust their friends right now. He pats Wicky’s leg, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek before standing up and stretching. 

“Right.” Wicky yawns. “After breakfast. Bitty’s cooking is should still be Bitty’s cooking, regardless of whatever’s happening.”

To anyone looking in that was familiar with the Samwell Mens’ Hockey team, breakfast seemed normal. The group sat around the table, Holster and Shitty arguing about which weighs more, a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers. Ransom nods in agreement with both of them, occasionally adding a ‘that’s fair’ or ‘good point’ between pancakes. Bitty and Jack are entirely paying attention to each other, mostly small talk with the mentions of family and Jack’s NHL future.

Ollie looks over at Chowder, the only one not chatting. He’s entirely focused on poking at his pancakes with a fork and a pout on his face. Chowder glances up, sees Ollie staring at him, makes a noise and looks away.

It takes another few minutes or so before anyone actually acknowledges that Ollie and Wicky are sitting at the table. 

“So, ignoring the fact that it’s DEFINITELY a ton of feathers, because you have to carry the weight of what you did to all those birds, I GOTTA ask, what’s the deal with you two?” Holster points his fork in the pair’s direction, gesturing back and forth between them.

“Dude.” Ransom shakes his head.

“What? I can’t be the only one wondering why two random bros are eating breakfast with us.”

“Holster’s lack of subtlety aside,” Shitty begins, pauses to take a sip of coffee, and then continues, “I’m with him on this one. Especially all the pictures you have of and with us.”

“They have what?!” Ransom and Holster look at Shitty, shouting in unison. 

“Yeah, uh, Ollie, was it?” Shitty gestures at Ollie, who nods in reply. “He showed us pictures of us with them, doing shit we DEFINITELY have done...but with them there too?”

“How?!” Holster nearly spits out the pancake in his mouth. Good to see some things don’t change.

“Holster, if we knew that we wouldn’t all be sitting here scratching our heads, would we?” Jack offers. Holster opens his mouth to protest, but decides against it.

“If I may,” Bitty looks over at the pair, “What’s the last thing you remember before waking up on the couch?”

“Well, Ollie and I had a bet with those two chuckleheads.” Wicky points to Ransom and Holster. “The bet itself isn’t important, but we lost, and we had to go to the creepy ass abandoned asylum, or uh, sanatorium, or whatever the fuck it’s called.”

“Specifically after midnight, for some reason.” Ollie adds. “And we had to go inside and take a selfie to prove we did it. Which we DID, by the way, so we definitely won the bet.”

“Wait wait wait, you two went WHERE?” Shitty raises an eyebrow. “That condemned building in the woods a few miles from here?!”

“Yeah, is it not a sanatorium anymore, or—” 

“No, uh, I think that’s what it is.” Shitty makes a face. “Not the important part. Dude, people legit DISAPPEAR when they go into that building.” 

“Well, clearly we didn’t disappear if we’re RIGHT here.” Ollie gestures and Wicky, who nods in agreement.

“What if…” Shitty starts, looking at everyone around the table just long enough to make each one uncomfortable. “You DID disappear….from everyone’s MEMORIES!” 

“What.” Ollie deadpans.

“THINK about it. You’re in a world where everything is, like, normal, except none of us remember you! You disappeared from our MEMORIES!” 

“Shitty, that’s—” Jack starts, but Shitty waves a hand at him.

“Jack, brah, what other explanation do you have?”

“I, uh…” Jack hesitates, putting a hand to his chin in thought. 

“What if they’re from a PARALLEL UNIVERSE!” Holster shouts, shattering the momentary yet stiflingly awkward silence. “They DID disappear...from their OWN universe! And THAT’S why they don’t exist in THIS universe. They’re from one LIKE it where they do. That’s why they know us, and have all the pictures, but we’re clueless!” 

“Bro, that’s—” Ransom starts, giving Holster the wildest look.

“It’s genius, right?!” 

“Guys, this isn’t some science fiction film, or a weird fanfiction.” Chowder finally speaks. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Neither does us collectively forgetting two people we’re apparently very close to.” Holster huffs. “Does it?”

“N-no, but.” Chowder frowns. 

“Wait, hang on, Shits, did you say people disappear when they go into the woods?” Wicky gets the conversation back on track. 

“Yeah, bro, I bet I can find we can find some kind of news article or something if we look it up online.”

“Yeah, but people go missing all the time. How can we prove they disappeared because they went there, or even that they went INTO the creepy asylum in the first place?” Ransom butts in, shaking his head.

“Well, we don’t.” Wicky hums. 

“What’s this about parallel universes and people disappearing?” Lardo pokes her head into the kitchen. 

“Lards!” Shitty throws his hands in the air. “Pull up a chair, we’ve got a mystery on our hands! 

“So, what’s the plan?” Wicky leans over, bumping shoulders with Ollie as they walk. 

The discussion at breakfast was, to be honest, not helpful in the fucking slightest. Much like the one person versus 1,000 roaches in the attic debate, the team was split down the middle between parallel universe and widespread amnesia. Holster was CONVINCED they were about to make a breakthrough, until Bitty pointed out it was, in fact, a weekday, and that everyone had class to get to. 

Ollie and Wicky, naturally and understandingly perturbed by the morning’s developments, agree that class is probably not the best idea at the moment. Instead, they’ve left the Haus, and are in the process of cutting across campus. 

“Okay look, as truly, deeply and BITTERLY stupid as both of these options are, I am approaching this investigation as if we are suddenly trapped in a sci-fi movie, and that AT LEAST one of them is physically possible.” Ollie offers, stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

“So, are we humoring ‘parallel universe’ first, or are we humoring ‘widespread amnesia’ first?” Wicky makes a face, clearly not savoring the fact that either of those thoughts have been put into words between them.

“Uh, a little of both, actually….and I know, this is so fucking stupid to me, too.” Ollie replies, sensing the sarcasm dripping from Wicky’s voice.

“Fuckin’ right? Anyway, hey, third crackpot theory,” Wicky starts, “What if we’re both just dreaming! Or, or, oooorrrr, we’re both in a COMA, and we’re still on the floor in the creepy asylum!”

“God, I fucking HATE coma theories.” Ollie shakes his head. “Might as well just hang a sign up that says ‘no fun allowed’.” 

“So, is that a ‘no’, then?” Wicky offers Ollie a grin, almost a smirk.

Ollie shakes his head, smacking Wicky on the arm. Wicky laughs, swatting back.

“Okay, so hard ‘No’ on coma theory, So, uh, why the dorms, dude?” Wicky asks as they enter the dorm building. Ollie puts a finger to his mouth, lets out a ‘shhh’.

“Try to keep it down, dude. We don’t know what’s going on or who to trust, we should be careful who hears us talk about this shit. Second, whatever happens here will tell us which ‘crackpot theory’ we continue to humor.”

Wicky holds up a hand in confusion, raises an eyebrow. Ollie shakes his head.

“Just follow me, dude, I’ll show you.” 

The pair make a quick trek upstairs, heading down the hall once they hit the right floor.

“Hey, Ol, call me crazy, but this place really does have horror movie vibes during the middle of the day when it’s empty, huh.”

“Oh no, you found out my real secret motive, I’m actually the bad guy and I brought you here to kill you.” 

“I’m a bad bitch, you can’t kill me!” Wicky jokes, and the pair share a laugh. There’s an understanding between them that they both needed a good laugh right now.

“It is definitely a weird vibe, though. Anyway—” Ollie wipes a tear from his eye. He takes a moment to pat his pants pockets. “Shit, uh, you got your keys, babe? I think I left mine back in the room before we left last night.”

“Yeah.” Wicky nods. He shifts his backpack forward, unzips a small pocket and rifles through, producing a keyring. 

“You’re the best, bro.” Ollie accepts the keys. “Okay, now check this out. If we’re in ‘amnesia world’, we still exist and otherwise shit should be normal.”

“Save from all our friends and teammates, and presumably everyone ELSE we’ve ever met, not knowing who we are, down to having identical pictures and memories without us in them.”

“Yes, thanks for explaining amnesia, dude, I had no idea what it was.”

“Fuck you, dude, get on with the point.”

“Okay, well,” Ollie begins again as they come to a stop in front of the door to their room. “Remember how we replaced the doorknob to our room after that one night some drunk football player literally broke it off?”

“Of course, dude. Shitty went out of his way the next day to track him down and make him pay for the replacement.”

“Right. Which means WE replaced it and WE have the key to the doorknob that WE put in. If this IS amnesia world, this is still our dorm room, which means we still swapped out the doorknob. BUT, big but, Jack Zimmermann sized—”

“Get on with it, Ol.”

“Sorry, if this is parallel universe world, where we don’t exist, I wouldn’t be able to—”

Ollie shoves the key into the lock, has to give it a push for it to fit. He twists, tries to turn the doorknob. 

Nothing.

“Hmm.” Ollie makes a face, his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration. 

“‘Hmm’? What the fuck does ‘hmm’ mean?”

Ollie waves a hand at Wicky, tries the lock again. He fumbles and shakes the doorknob. 

Still locked.

“Fuck.” 

Ollie pulls the key out. Jiggles the doorknob again. 

“So, what does this me—”

The door flies open, and someone glares at them from inside the room.

“Can I fucking help you?” 

“Oh,” Ollie makes a face, looking from the stranger, to Wicky, and back to the strange man standing in the doorway. “S-sorry, bro, we’re looking for a friend, I think we’re on the wrong floor.”

“Whatever, dude, thanks for waking me up.” 

Ollie opens his mouth to reply, but the door’s already been slammed in his face before the words get a chance to form. 

“So, bro, what does this mean?” Wicky repeats. Ollie makes a face, mumbles under his breath and stuffs the keys into his pocket.

“Well, I think we’ve officially crossed into ‘parallel universe’ world, Wicks. C’mon, let’s go back to the Haus, at least we can talk there without seeming…”

“Crazy?”

“Yeah, crazy is a word for it.” Ollie nods. “C’mon, let’s, uh, let’s go.”

Ollie doesn’t allow himself to relax until he and Wicky are firmly planted on the disgusting green couch in the Haus living room. As rancid as it is, at least it’s familiar.

“So,” Ollie lets out a breath he FULL DAMN WELL knew he was holding, “A parallel fucking universe.” 

“God, it feels so stupid even HUMORING this idea.” Wicky throws his hands into the air. “Are we seriously considering this? How can we be in a parallel universe?!”

“That’s what we gotta find out, I guess.” Ollie hums, tapping his chin. “And on top of that, now we have no place to stay, no food or clothes, no money—”

“No existence.” Wicky butts in, and Ollie groans.

“What the fuck do we do?” 

“Stick together like best bro slash boyfriends and figure this shit out?” Wicky offers, forcing his mouth into a smile. It’s unconvincing, and wavers fairly quickly.

“Well, duh, of COURSE we do that.” Ollie nods, and they exchange a quick fist bump, almost on instinct. “But I meant specifically about nowhere to go and nothing in our possession.”

“No, we don’t have nothing!” Wicky ceremoniously holds up his backpack, unzipping it and dumping the contents in the space between the pair on the couch. “See?”

Ollie gives Wicky a look, and Wicky nods, urging Ollie to do the same thing with his own bag. Ollie concedes, performing the same gesture.

“Great. A couple empty water bottles, a flare gun loaded with a SINGLE flare, Chowder’s stuffed shark—”

“Sharkie Jr.” Wicky corrects him.

“Right...Sharkie Jr.,” Ollie pauses, recollecting his thoughts, “A half eaten box of animal crackers...some paper clips and a black Sharpie. Sounds like we can weather ANY storm.”

“Okay.” Wicky makes a face. “S-so it’s not great, but maybe we can—”

The door to the Haus opens, shuts softly, kills the conversation.

“Oh!” Chowder’s head pokes into the living room. “Didn’t realize you two would...be here.”

“Yeah, we tried to go to our dorm, but, uh, it doesn’t exist in this world?” 

“This world?” Chowder repeats.

“Yeah, Ollie’s decided we’re focusing on this being a parallel universe, rather than a case of mass amnesia.”

“Oh, of course.” Chowder nods matter of factly, as if he sees nothing wrong with the situation or the thought process behind that decision.

“Right, Mondays and Wednesdays you have a break between math and science classes.” Ollie offers, unprompted. “You usually come around this time to raid the kitchen for Bitty’s baked good leftovers.”

“Yeah, how did you—”

“Again, we’re friends, dude, at least…” Ollie trails off, collecting his words, “Some version of you is our friend, I guess?” 

“This is making my brain hurt.” Wicky groans, presses his temples. 

“Mine too.” Chowder offers before slipping into the kitchen. He reappears a few minutes later with a plate of cookies. He sets them on the table in front of the couch, pulls a chair up to the other side and flops down.

“Anyway, so yeah, we think we genuinely don’t exist in this world? Hence the ‘no one knows who we are’ and ‘no dorm room’ things.” Wicky says out loud, not necessarily directed at Chowder, but at least for the benefit of getting him up to speed.

Chowder opens his mouth to say something. He looks between the pair, down at Sharkie Jr. sitting between them on the couch, and changes his mind.

“Honestly, Wicky, it feels like we’re back at square one.” Ollie pulls off his hat, runs a hand through his hair. He sets the hat down next to him. “Square zero, even.”

“I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind if you stayed here.” Chowder mumbles, mouth full of cookie, “You could always ask.”

“It would be nice sleeping somewhere familiar...since we don’t know how long we’ll be here.”

“Or how to get back.” Ollie sighs. “Or where to start looking. Fuck, dude, how did this shit even HAPPEN?”

The trio sit in silence for a minute or two, before Chowder inhales and shifts in his chair. “So...this other version of me...what’s he like?”

“Hmm?” Wicky cracks an eye open. He’s leaning against the arm of the couch, legs in Ollie’s lap and hands behind his head. It takes a minute for the question to register. “Uh, I guess the same? Everyone we’ve talked to on the team so far has been...pretty identical.”

“Except for the, uh, ‘not remembering us’ part.” Ollie adds.

“So, we’re friends?”

“Of course, dude, since we met you on your Taddy tour before your Freshman year.”

Chowder makes a thoughtful noise, looking away from the pair. “Well, there’s no way ANY version of me would give Sharkie Jr. to anyone he doesn’t like a lot, so, I guess I don't need to interrogate you about what kind of people you are.” 

Ollie chuckles. “You, or, uh, our version of you? I guess. I don’t know, man. Look, you INSISTED we take him to keep us safe.”

“And considering we just got brought to an alternate dimension instead of slaughtered by malevolent spirits, I say job done!”

Chowder lets out a snort, giving up fighting back the smile he’s been holding in. “You two DO seem pretty likeable. Is-is it sad?”

“Sad?”

“Knowing you’re here instead of wherever you came from? That the versions of me and Bitty and Jack and everyone is probably worried and wondering where you are?”

“We’ve been, uh...avoiding the thought?” Ollie turns his head. Wicky leans over to pat him on the shoulder, and Ollie’s hand shoots up, resting on top of Wicky’s.

“I-I don’t know what I can do to help.” Chowder continues. “But there’s a me who wants his friends back, so I gotta do something! And Sharkie Jr. needs to go home, too!”

“Yeah, and we’d never leave Sharkie Jr. behind!” Wicky shouts, and Ollie nods in agreement.

“So, uh, we’re really gonna go back there?”

Ollie looks up at Wicky, the other man’s voice snapping out of his train of thought. It’s later in the evening now, and the team is off at practice, leaving Ollie and Wicky, once again, alone and left to their own devices. After their conversation earlier in the day with Chowder, the pair agreed that, while staying in the Haus was an option in the VERY short term, they couldn’t hang out in this world forever. It was Ollie’s suggestion to head back to the sanatorium.

“Like, don’t get me wrong.” Wicky continues, as Ollie blinks a few times, “It’s probably not as creepy when it’s not so late, but really? That place is what got us into this mess in the first place. This is—”

Ollie reaches out with a sigh, grabs Wicky’s hand and gives it a squeeze. Wicky stops rambling mid-sentence, breathes in and then exhales. 

“Good?” Ollie offers a smile. 

“Yeah, well, no, but yeah.” Wicky nods. “Anyway, you really think we should go back there?”

“You said it yourself, bro, that place got us into this mess. Remember, we’re approaching this like a bad sci-fi movie.”

“Right, the place that gets them into the mess is generally how they get out.”

Ollie finds himself absently tracing circles on the back of Wicky’s hand with his thumb. He sighs again. 

“Are YOU good, bro?” Wicky gives him a look. “You seem…you good?” 

“Nah, not really.” Ollie shakes his head. “This shit is stressful.”

“I got you, man, but I also GOT you. You ready to go?”

“I mean, are you?” 

“No.” Wicky says bluntly. No point in lying. “But we don’t have any other leads or ideas for shit to try. Let’s definitely steal some snacks first, though.” 

“Oh, absolutely.” Ollie laughs. 

“I wonder if the guys will miss a flashlight, I think I left ours back in...our dimension, or universe, or whatever it’s called.” Wicky pulls his hand away from Ollie’s, leans over to grab his backpack off the floor.

“Maybe this version of them have more than one flashlight in here that actually WORKS.” 

“This place is DEFINITELY just as creepy earlier in the day.” Wicky makes a face, gripping onto the strap of his backpack a bit tighter.

Despite being in another world, or universe, or whatever, the path from campus through the woods is the same, and having done it just the night before, the pair make it there much more easily than they did on their previous attempt.

“Should we knock to see if anyone’s home?” Ollie jokes. 

“Dude, c’mon.” Wicky shakes his head, tries not to humor his boyfriend, but can’t help muffle a laugh that comes out as a snort.

“Sorry for trying to lighten the mood. Let’s go.”

Weirdly enough, this world’s version of the building itself is lacking a front door, and any attempts at boarding the opening up have not stood the test of time. Ollie kicks at the chunks of plywood still haphazardly nailed to the doorframe, and they give way with zero effort. 

“Okay, we’re now interdimensionally committing breaking and entering.” Wicky chuckles as he follows Ollie through the doorway. “But since we don’t exist here they can’t prove anything.”

“Bro.” Ollie raises an eyebrow.

“This place isn’t any less terrifying, dude.” Wicky offers. “I’m distracting myself.”

“Mmm, fair.” Ollie says as Wicky clicks on the flashlight. “Where do we start?”

“Maybe there’s, like, an office or something where they keep files we can look through?”

“Why would we do that?”

“Well, maybe this shit happened to someone else and they left notes or something.”

“Bro, I’m sorry, but I’m literally living this shit right now, and my thought is not to grab a pen and paper and start jotting things down.” Ollie shakes his head. “We should start in the room we blacked out in last night.”

“Oh yeah, what was up with that one? It’s the only one that looked, like...normal? Not normal, but like—”

“Somehow less fucked up by time?”

“Yeah.” Wicky nods. “Oh, that’s super fucking sketch. Let’s start there.”

Ollie doesn’t hesitate, reaching out to grab Wicky’s hand again. No way in HELL are they getting separated in this place. It’s bad enough being sent to an alternate dimension, but Ollie isn’t letting anything split them up. Wicky has the same thought, squeezing Ollie’s hand as they make their way up the stairs. 

“Shit.” Ollie says as they hit the top of the stairs. “Do you remember which room it is?”

“No.” Wicky shakes his head. “But it was down this hallway right in front of us at the top of the stairs.”

“Okay, shit, guess we’re gonna wing it and see what happens.”

“Is that really...the best way to do this?”

“No? But I don’t really have any other ideas.”

“Then it’s perfect!”

Still clinging to Wicky’s hand like his life depends on it, Ollie begins the process of throwing open each door. He gives the rooms a quick scan each time.

“Hey.” Wicky says as they hit the halfway point in the doors. “What if this is like a video game, and the room moves each time we come here?”

“I may legitimately cry, dude.” Ollie shakes his head. “Don’t even suggest that.”

“I’m just saying. I feel like we should have found it by now.”

“No, no, wait. I think it was this one.” Ollie grabs the handle closest to him. He hopes for it to give him the offputting uneasy feeling from last night, but instead it’s just...a doorknob.

“Dude, open that one, I think you’re right about it being the one.” Wicky encourages, shining the light on the door fully. 

Ollie frowns as he gives the door knob a twist. The door opens and, much to his disappointment, they’re met with just another empty dirty room. 

“What, bro, I thought this was the one for sure.”

“It was definitely this hallway, right?” Ollie looks from one end of the hall to the other. “Like, we didn’t get this wing messed up with another one?”

“No way, man, it was the hall dead ahead from the staircase for sure!” 

“I gotta say, bro.” Ollie steps closer to Wicky. “Something feels...different about this place.”

“Uhh, alternate universe?” Wicky grimaces, still bitter to the idea that THIS is the only explanation they have for shit going on. 

“No, like. Okay, Samwell and the Haus and everything, those still FEEL the same, even if they’re technically not, or, whatever. But this place?” Ollie uses his free hand to gesture vaguely at the hallway. “It feels different than the one we went to last night.”

“I guess I get what you mean. It feels like...spooky? Less ominous tonight.”

Wicky’s point is IMMEDIATELY disproven as something clatters just out of view, and a horrible shriek echoes through the woods outside. Without so much as blinking, Wicky lets go of Ollie’s hand and uses his arm to pull the man into a hug. 

Ollie lets a yelp escape his mouth. “Wicky, dude!” 

Wicky can feel his cheeks heat up as he presses them into Ollie’s hoodie. “Sh-shut up.”

“You okay? Maybe we should regroup and come back again later?” Ollie offers, voice softer than it needs to be.

Wicky pulls back, looks away but keeps his arm around Ollie’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m good, I—Fuck, man, doesn’t this put us back at square one?”

“I think it’s safe to say we never really left square one, dude.” Ollie tries to fake a smile. “But that hasn’t stopped us yet. Let’s go back before it gets too late. We can sleep and start again in the morning.”

Wicky lets out a long breath, closing his eyes and leaning against Ollie again. Ollie brings his free hand up, patting Wicky on the back. 

“Yeah, let’s go back.” 

“You okay?” Ollie repeats.

“Not really. Let’s just go, this place gives me the creeps.”

Ollie exhales, trying his best to stretch from his spot on the couch in the Haus living room. The team had been nice enough to agree to let them stay ‘for as long as they needed’, despite Ollie and Wicky’s synchronized insistence that they didn’t plan to crash there for the long haul. 

Ollie feels a weight shifting on top of him, reaches up and starts feeling around.

“Dude, any lower and we’re gonna need a ‘do not disturb’ sign for the front door.” Wicky starts, and Ollie’s hand freezes mid-air.

Ollie’s brain takes a second to wake up and process the situation, and he laughs. “Morning, bro. This couch still sucks.”

“I dunno.” Wicky hums. “I’m pretty comfortable.”

“Alright, get off me.” Ollie gives Wicky a play shove. The other man huffs, throwing the blanket onto the ground as he stands. 

“So, think we woke up in our own world, by any chance?” 

“Hmm.” Ollie stretches again, winces as his shoulders pop. “I doubt it, but it would be a hell of a surprise.”

“Oh, I thought I heard y’all.” Bitty says as he enters the living room. He’s got an apron on, floral print, that Ollie remembers he and Wicky helping him pick out the second semester of freshman year. It’s covered in flour and a few red stains, probably fruit. “Any luck last night? By the time we all got back from practice you were asleep.”

“Fuck. Bitty, do we still not exist in this world?” 

“‘Fraid not.” Bitty shakes his head. “I take it you guys didn’t find anything?”

“Nope. Just an empty room where we were expecting to see something.” Ollie offers. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty shitty.” Wicky leans on the arm of the couch, crosses his arms. “We’re stuck at square one.”

“Wish I could offer y’all some help.” Bitty puts his hands to his hips. “But spooky paranormal isn’t really my specialty.” 

“Too bad Johnson wasn’t here, that dude was scary genre-savvy.” Wicky frowns. “I could try calling him.”

“Oh wait!” Ollie shoots up off the couch. “Bitty, where’s Shitty right now?” 

“Huh? He’s at the library, I think. Something about a report due and time being of the essence. Why?”

“Well when we were all talking the other day...yesterday? Time is fake, ANYWAY, he mentioned something about people going into that asylum and disappearing. Maybe he has an idea of where we can look for some info or something.”

“Good idea, dude!” Wicky leans over, and the pair fistbump. “We should go find him!”

“I never thought I’d be excited to go to the library. Thanks for the help, Bits, whatever you’re making smells delicious, by the way.”

“Aw, nah, it’s just something I’ve been meaning to try.” Bitty waves a hand. 

“Dude, no, it smells awesome.” Wicky shakes his hand. “Save us some for when we get back?”

“You should know the rules, if you know me.” Bitty’s smile turns mischievous. “I always make enough for everyone.”

“You’re the best, dude. We’ll see you later!” Ollie leans over, grabs Wicky’s bag and tosses to him before picking up his own and slinging it over his shoulder.

“Next stop: Library!”

It takes them all of thirty seconds to spot Shitty’s iconic flow as Ollie and Wicky enter the library. He just happens to glance up, lock eyes with them and give them a wave.

“Sup brahs?” Shitty smiles as the pair sit across from him at the table he’s spread his notes out on. “Was worried something happened to you when we didn’t see you yesterday.”

“Yeah, we’re unfortunately still here.” Wicky shrugs. “And seeing you completing assignments in a timely manner? This has GOT to be an alternate universe.” 

“Ignore him. We’re here ‘cause we actually think you can help us out.” Ollie leans against the table.

“Oh?” Shitty raises an eyebrow, intrigued. He takes a second to save the document he’s working on before pushing his laptop to the side. “Tell me more.”

“You mentioned something when we first showed up about people going into the woods and disappearing. How many times has that happened?”

“Oh!” Shitty’s eyes practically light up. “I was HOPING you’d ask me about that! Lards and I talk about weird news and paranormal stuff like this all the time. They’re definitely not, like, an everyday occurrence or anything, but it’s happened enough for it to MAKE the news every time...if that makes sense.”

“I think.” Ollie makes a face. “So do you have any articles or anything?”

Shitty pulls his laptop back in front of him and starts typing. “Nothing saved, but I can get you some. You want ‘em printed?”

“Oh, uh.” Ollie looks over to Wicky, who nods in reply. “Sure. Hopefully this’ll give us a place to start.”

“‘Course.” Shitty nods. “Lards might have some ideas, too, if you need some. If you want my opinion, though, I definitely think they have something to do with what you guys are dealing with.”

“Fuck, man, I hope so.” Ollie sighs. Normally he or Wicky would have no problem getting Shitty to talk, but there’s an unspoken tension and uneasiness between the trio. They are technically strangers, after all. 

“Shit, I can only imagine how much this has to suck.” Shitty offers as he clicks a few times. “Hope these help, guys, I really do.”

“We appreciate the help.” Wicky gives a smile. “Our Shitty would never leave someone hanging, either.”

“Fuck, dude.” Shitty says after a few seconds. “That’s fucked up, they’re probably just as worried about you guys as you are about getting back. I can only imagine what I’d do if one of the guys disappeared.”

“Yeah, Chowder said something similar yesterday.” Ollie’s shoulders sag. Wicky reaches over and pats his arm. “We’re doing our best not to humor those thoughts so we can focus on getting back.”

Shitty nods, shutting his laptop and standing up. He walks away, returns a minute or two later with a stack of papers in hand. “Here y’go.” He offers them to Ollie. 

“Thanks, man.” 

“We’re not the versions of us that you know, which is such a weird ass concept, but we’re here to help. Anyway, I gotta run, I’m gonna be late for a lecture if I don’t motor. Good luck, boys.”

“Thanks, Shits.” Ollie does what he can to force a smile. Shitty sees right through this gesture, gives him a pat on the shoulder as he heads off.

“Okay, so what do we have so far?”

Wicky stops mid bite of a piece of the pie. True to his word, Bitty made sure some was left for them when they returned from the library. Aside from the pair, the Haus is empty, giving them free reign to spread papers and newspaper articles, as well as a few plates and a dish of pie, across the kitchen table. 

“Wicky, dude, focus here!” Ollie shakes his head. 

“What, dude? I’m hungry! You can’t tell me you don’t want a piece of that pie right fuckin’ now.”

“I...fine.” Ollie huffs, relenting, and grabs a piece of pie. He takes a forkful. “So, what are we working with so far?”

“Well,” Wicky puts down the now empty plate. He pulls an article in front of him. “Seems like we have a mix of stories, here. Most of these are kinda garbage, not helpful at all, man. Like this one, where a girl went into the woods and just vanished back in the fall.”

“I mean...isn’t that exactly what happened to us?”

“Uh, technically, I guess? A lot of these just mention the woods, but there are a few I’ve noticed so far that actually mention the spooky asylum.”

“So, we dump out the ones that don’t mention that place specifically, and then start really reading them.” Ollie takes another bite. “But I’m finishing this pie, first.”

“I told you, dude.” Wicky reaches toward the dish, hesitates, decides against another slice in order to keep themselves on track. “Anyway, yeah, that’s what I was thinking we do. Start narrowing shit down so we can get to the bottom of things.”

“Or at the very least give us an idea of what we did wrong when we went last night.” 

“Right.” Wicky nods. He flips through a few articles, tossing them to the side of the table. He grabs one and starts reading. “Like this one here. A college student went missing a few years ago. The friend she went with was the one who reported her missing, said they went to the asylum but only she went inside. After an hour she didn’t come back, he went to the cops and reported her missing.”

“Oh, shit, that’s a good start. Anything else?”

“Uh,” Wicky scans the article in front of him. “She wasn’t a student here, but was in town visiting family. The friend DID go here, they were high school friends, blah blah blah. Nope, nothing worth note.”

“Still, the friend who DIDN’T go inside didn’t disappear.” Ollie sets his fork down, pushes the empty plate aside and brushes a few crumbs onto the floor. “Does it say anything about, like, if the police went in and searched the place for her?”

“A little, but he didn’t report her missing right away, and they didn’t find anything by the time they came to look the next day. Hmm, maybe we can find one that’s more specific?” Wicky sets the article aside, starting his and Ollie’s ‘keep pile’ of articles to read through again. 

“Oh, oh, here’s something.” Ollie scans the article he grabbed. “No, no wait, this one’s garbage.”

“Shitty sure was able to find a lot of articles, huh.” Wicky looks around the table, shakes his head as he dumps a few more articles into the trash pile. “He wasn’t kidding when he said people go there and just disappear. I guess it beats crippling student loan debt.”

“Yeah,” Ollie grabs a stack of papers, “Shit, this is a longer one. Hmm, oh! This one was a group of three people, they all went inside but only two came back out. Uhh, they said they’ve made the trip there before, and wanted to show their third friend, the one who disappeared, the place for the first time.”

“Wait, wait, so two of them went in but made it back out?” Wicky interrupts as he tosses the article in his hand onto the other side of the table. “What the fuck? How?”

“Yeah man, uh, it says here, uh...the third friend got separated from the pair at some point and never met back up with them.” 

Wicky takes a minute, cogs in his brain turning. “So there’s GOT to be a specific part of that building that people have to go in to disappear.”

“Like the room we went in!” Ollie slaps the papers onto the table. “But that doesn’t explain why it was gone when we found it.”

“Yeah, we went at night like most of the people in these articles, just like we did when we found it.” Wicky crosses his arms, drumming his fingers against the sleeve of his shirt. “I don’t get it.”

“This is good, though, bro! A breakthrough!” Ollie leans his elbows on the table, props his head in his hands and smiles at Wicky. “We’ve definitely progressed to, like, at LEAST square two.”

Wicky sighs. “So we know that people disappear when they go into the asylum at night, but not all the time?”

“Looks like it.” Ollie nods.

“Then where the fuck was that room we found the first night? That HAS to be our key to getting back. That’s what we need to figure out, and nothing we’ve read has told us anything.”

Ollie’s smile falters, he sighs. “I’m trying to look on the bright side here, bro, c’mon.” 

“I know, I’m sorry... but it’s really hard to stay positive when we’ve got so little to work with. We don’t really know more than what we already thought we knew. People disappear there, but only in certain parts of the place.”

“We still have plenty of other articles to read, Pace.” Ollie tries. “C’mon, take another piece of pie and let’s get back to reading.”

“Well, okay,” Wicky shrugs, reaching out to grab another piece of pie, “I guess you have a point, and I can’t say no to more pie!”

Ollie laughs, smile returning to his face as he reaches out and grabs another piece for himself before Wicky can take too big a piece. “Don’t eat it all, man, I want another piece too!”

Existing in a world where you don’t technically exist, but all the people you know and hold dear DO exist is...bizarre. Sure, the team is polite, friendly to a degree, but no one interacts with Ollie and Wicky like they’ve grown so used to. A smile, a nod or a wave, maybe a bit of small talk, but that’s the extent of it.

So that morning when Ollie wakes up with Dex standing over him and Wicky, staring down at them with his arms crossed, Ollie KNOWS something is about to happen. He can’t predict what, but this IS Dex he’s talking about…

So he’s sure someone is gonna end up yelling.

“Good, you’re awake.” Dex begins. Not the warm greeting Ollie would have liked first thing in the morning, but it’s the most Dex, THIS version of Dex, has said to him since he and Wicky woke up here the other day.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine.” Ollie offers back, grogginess in his voice. 

“I need to talk to you.”

“You can start with a ‘hello’, dude.”

“Fuck off, this isn’t a pleasant conversation.”

Ollie raises an eyebrow. Definitely not the way he expected the conversation to go.

“Dude.” Wicky exhales. “You could use an inside voice.”

“Shut up. I came to talk to you two about this shit you’re doing.”

“Sleeping?” Wicky’s face is buried in Ollie’s chest. He hopes having his eyes closed will make Dex disappear.

“Cuddling a bro?” Ollie raises the other eyebrow. 

“No, fuckin-Jesus Christ. Who do you think you have fooled?”

“What?” 

“This whole act you’ve got going on!” Dex’s voice has already gone up an octave. Ollie swears he can see his eye twitch. “A fucking parallel universe?! Who are you guys really? What do you want?”

“Dude, what?” Wicky turns his head so he can peer up at Dex with one eye. “What are you talking about.”

“You really want me to believe a fucking parallel universe exists, and you guys got dumped on our couch from it?!”

“Yes?”

“Oh man, fuck OFF!” 

“Dex, dude—” Ollie starts, but Dex cuts him off almost immediately.

“No, fuck you! You don’t get to call me that! How do you even KNOW about that nickname?”

“Because we’re from a fucking alternate world where we’re your teammates? And you’re one of Ollie’s best friends?” 

“Oh my god!” Dex balls his hands into fists, inhales sharply. “You guys are COMMITTED to this shit.”

“Dude.” Ollie manages to muster.

“What’s worse is you’ve got people BELIEVING this shit! My FRIENDS believing this shit!”

“What’s you’re fuckin’ problem?” Wicky is pushing himself out of his spot.

“YOU TWO are my fucking problem. Stop fucking with my friends!” Dex spits the words at Wicky, Ollie flinches as Dex speaks.

“Back off, Poindexter.” Wicky stares the other man down. “We’re not committed to some ‘bit’, we’re stuck here and we’re doing our best to get home. YOU aren’t helping in any way coming here to start shit.”

It’s clear Dex isn’t expecting either of them to argue back, cause he shuts up and takes a minute to process.

“You think we have nothing better to do than bum on the gross ass couch and pretend we don’t belong here?! You think we somehow faked all the pictures of us hanging out? How the fuck would we do that? How the FUCK would we know all the shit we know about you guys that only the team would know?”

“I, uh—”

“Exactly. You can’t explain that because it’s TRUE. We’re not making this shit up. Now back. The fuck. Off.”

Dex blinks a few times. His shoulders slump as his muscles untense. “I-I don’t need to be talked to like this by some fucking strangers in the living room of my goddamn frat house.”

“Then go away. The team, the ones who LIVE in the Haus said we could be here.”

Dex huffs, opens his mouth to speak. He decides against it, waves a hand at the pair before turning and heading out of the living room.

Wicky waits until he hears the front door to open and shut before relaxing. He falls back onto the couch, looks over at Ollie. Ollie has his knees pulled to his chest.

“Fuck that guy, man.” Wicky sighs. 

Ollie doesn’t reply.

“Ol?” Wicky frowns. He scoots over to the other man on the couch, reaches out and puts a hand on one of Ollie’s. 

Ollie dares to peek up at Wicky. “This sucks.” 

“Don’t worry about him, man. We both know how he is.”

“It still hurts, dude.” Ollie lets his head drop. He hates that weird feeling that hits right on the cusp of crying. 

“I know, bro, I know.” Wicky pats Ollie’s hand. 

“What if we can’t figure out how to get back, man?” Ollie says after the pair sit for a few minutes in silence. “It’s so hard pretending this shit’s gonna work out…”

“We’ll figure it out!” Wicky fakes a smile. “We’ve already made a lot of progress, we’re close, I can tell.”

“Dude, you’re just as worried as I am.”

“Well yeah!” Wicky can’t help but laugh. “But what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to make you feel better.”

Ollie sniffs, and then chuckles. He uncurls, leans over and wraps his arms around Wicky. 

“I’ve got you, bro.” Wicky returns the hug, gives Ollie a squeeze. “We’ll figure this out.”

“And if we can’t?” Ollie can’t help himself. The words just fall out.

“We WILL.” Wicky insists. “You and me, dude.”

“You and me.” Ollie repeats the words. 

Wicky makes a face, nudges Ollie to get his attention. Ollie looks over, makes a noise as Wicky gestures off past the edge of the porch where they’re sitting. 

Ollie can see Dex a few yards away, hands stuffed in his pockets, walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the Haus. He sighs, leaning against Wicky to rest his head on the other man’s shoulder.

“Should I square up?” Wicky raises an eyebrow.

“Bro, I don’t even want to engage in conversation with him if I don’t have to. I’m hoping he just...walks right by us like we aren’t here.”

Wicky reaches over, puts a hand on Ollie’s leg and gives it a pat. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

It was, in fact, not fine.

“Uh, hey guys.” Dex says awkwardly as he leans against the railing of the porch across from the bench Ollie and Wicky are sitting on. “Nice night, huh?”

It’s clear Dex wants to be in this conversation as little as Ollie and Wicky do.

“What do you want, Poindexter?” Wicky starts. “You made your point pretty clear earlier.”

Dex frowns, shoulders slumping. “Right...about that...”

“Oh, here we go.” Wicky rolls his eyes. 

Ollie nudges him with his shoulder. 

“I came...to apologize?”

“Are you asking? Or are you here to apologize?” Wicky gives the other man a look, dares him to ‘fuck around and find out’.

“I’m here to...apologize.” Dex nods slowly. “Because I was a dick...and it was wrong.”

“And Chowder told you to after you told him about it.” Ollie adds. 

“And Chowder told me to after—Hey! How did you know that?”

“You really don’t listen, do you?” Ollie shakes his head.

“Just-just tell me ONE thing. ONE thing only a friend of mine would know.” Dex sounds weirdly desperate for them to offer him something so he can believe their whole story. 

“I mean, I could tell you ALL about your hopeless crush on Nur—” Ollie begins, and Dex is over at his side before he has a chance to finish the sentence. Dex claps a hand over Ollie’s mouth with a ‘shush’.

“How did you—” Dex stammers, cheeks turning red.

“Is that proof enough for you, dude?” Ollie swats Dex’s hand. 

Dex exhales, runs a hand through his hair, returning to his spot across from the pair. He leans against the railing again, crossing his arms. “Shit...you guys HAVE been telling the truth.”

“Why would we LIE about this, dude?” Wicky gives Dex a look, incredulous. 

“I don’t know...it’s just hard as FUCK to believe that could really happen, y’know?” 

“Oh, trust me, dude, we know.” Ollie straightens up in his seat. “We’ve been saying the same thing since we woke up here, and we’re the ones LIVING it.”

“A-and you guys think the creepy abandoned asylum in the woods brought you here?”

“It was the last place we were before we woke up here, and Shitty gave us hella articles about people going missing after going in there. It makes the most sense.” Wicky offers.

“As little sense as it makes.” Dex mumbles, glancing away from the pair. “So, uh, why do you think this happened?”

“What?” Ollie makes a face.

“Why you two?”

“I-I don’t think this happened for a reason, dude. I think Wicky and I went into that place on a dare, got sucked up in a ‘wrong time, wrong place’ kind of situation, and now we’re here.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, fuck.” Dex closes his eyes. “I’m sure this has got to suck...fucking, duh, of COURSE it sucks.”

“Dex, bro.” Ollie shakes his head. “It’s fine. Just PLEASE don’t make a comment about how ‘our version of you must be missing you guys, they must be so worried’ because it fucking SUCKS thinking about that shit.”

Dex frowns. “I wasn’t gonna–okay, maybe I WAS. But now I won’t. Chowder said something about that earlier, when we were talking about what happened.”

Ollie rests his head on Wicky’s shoulder again, closes his eyes. “This sucks, bro. Wicky and I went back the other day and didn’t find anything. Feels like every time we take a step forward we take another step back.”

“What if you guys went back later than you went the other day?” Dex taps his chin. “You guys were here and asleep by the time we all came back from practice the other day, maybe that was too early?”

Ollie and Wicky glance at each other, over at Dex, and then back at each other. 

Holy shit.

“Poindexter, I think you’re on to something!” Wicky smiles. 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yes, dude! The articles we read the other day all mentioned the people disappearing at night, we went before it was even fully dark! This HAS to have been something we missed.” Ollie looks from Dex to Wicky. “Bro, should we go tonight?”

“Hell yes!” Wicky nods. “Maybe we can finally go home!”

“Great!” Dex claps. “I’ll come with you guys!”

“What?” Ollie looks back from Wicky to Dex quick enough that it makes his hat shift on his head. 

“Well, maybe I can help you guys look around, or something?” Dex taps his index fingers together, looks at the pair wide-eyed. “Since I was such a dick to you guys earlier?”

“Dude, no!” Wicky shakes his head. “Imagine what would happen if you got sucked back to our world with us!”

“Yeah, it could make, like, a weird ass paradox or something.” Ollie says, shaking his hands.

“No, bro, I mean then we’d have more than one Dex! Can you IMAGINE?!”

“Dude, ouch.” Dex rubs his arm, frowns. “But what if I just stay, like, in the entrance, or right outside?”

“Not worth the risk, Will.” 

“But I can help! I watch paranormal movies all the time!”

“Look, the offer is appreciated.” Ollie stands up, walks over to Dex and leans next to him. “You’re a good friend, dude. I know you can be a bit...aggressive when it comes to showing how you care, but you mean well.”

Dex pouts when Ollie pats him on the shoulder. “This sucks. We can’t do anything to help you guys?”

“Bro, I don’t even know if we can help ourselves half the time.” Wicky jokes, chuckles. The chuckle sounds...sad.

“So you guys are just gonna go back and wander around, hoping it works?” Dex looks between the pair, unsure.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Ollie shrugs. “Honestly it’s the best we can hope for. We all said it earlier, this is some weird ass supernatural bullshit. What’s the use in overthinking when it comes to something that really SHOULDN’T be happening?”

“I guess that...makes sense?” Dex pauses for a minute. “Okay, no, NONE of this makes sense.”

“Nope.” 

“And if you guys go back and it doesn’t work, like you said it didn’t last time?”

“Then we come back here, mope for a bit, and try again later.” Ollie sighs. “It’s like losing a—”

“Please don’t say it’s ‘like losing a hockey game’.” Dex shakes his head, fights back a chuckle. “That is the MOST cliche thing you could say in this situation. Jack’s DAD wouldn’t say something that cliche and cheesy in a situation like this.”

“Yo, Ollie,” Wicky interrupts, leaning forward in his seat to swat at Ollie’s leg. “Why didn’t we just ask Bad Bob for help?”

“You want us to ask this universe’s version of Jack’s dad for help?” 

“I mean, why not? Who knows what a man that’s experienced Brass Bonanza in the flesh is capable of dreaming up?”

The trio stay silent for a minute or two. Ollie snorts, the first one to give into the laugh. Wicky joins him soon after.

It takes Dex an extra few seconds to join in, but eventually he adds in his own nervous chuckle.

“Seriously, though.” Dex starts again once Ollie and WIcky have settled down. “You guys sure I can’t tag along? Even as moral support?”

“Bro, please. Wicky and I need to figure this shit out, you tagging along and getting roped into this will NOT help any of us.”

“Fine.” Dex huffs. “But if anything happens to you two that I could have kept from happening, I’m gonna be pissed.”

“How we feelin’, Pace?”

Wicky looks over at Ollie as he shifts the backpack on his shoulders. The pair are back on the porch to the Haus. The moon is out now, shining through the branches of the tree in the front yard. Wicky can make out Ollie’s expression, lit up like it’s the middle of the day. He looks...confident.

“Good, man. You?”

Ollie smiles. “Optimistic, for sure. I have a good feeling about this go around.”

“Yeah?” Wicky leans over, and the pair exchange a fist bump.

“Oh yeah. We got this.”

The only thing they get is about 10 feet from the Haus when something behind them thuds to the ground. Wicky nearly jumps into Ollie’s arms, and Ollie pulls out an old baseball bat he found in the Haus’ downstairs closet.

“Hey guys.” Dex smiles up at them from the ground, grin sheepish. “Fancy running into you two, huh?”

“Dex, dude.” Ollie lowers the bat. “I thought we told you not to try and tag along?”

“I know, but I couldn’t help it.” Dex picks himself off the ground, brushing off the front of his jeans. “I wanted to help you guys see this through.”

“Plus…” Ollie gives Dex a look.

“Plus...I kinda wanna see this place for myself?”

“Dude, no.” Wicky shakes his head. “You’re going to fuck things up.”

“I think what Wicky means,” Ollie nudges the other man, “Is that it isn’t worth the risk having you come along.”

“Too bad, I’m coming anyway.” Dex huffs. 

“Dex, dude, c’mon.”

“No.” Dex shakes his head. “Look, part of why I freaked out earlier is because you guys are here, and you’re making people in this world get ATTACHED to you. My friends are attached to you, and that has me...invested in what happens to you guys.”

“Why?” Wicky looks at Dex, impatient, but willing to see where this is going.

“I don’t know? Maybe part of me knows how good of friends we all are in your world, and the versions of us are even MORE attached than the ones here are. God, this is so fucking–why are words so difficult?!”

“Dex, I get it. But literally nothing you can do can help me and Wicky figure this out once we get there. Think of how fucked up it would be to put yourself in our position somewhere else. Why risk it?”

“Even if I just wait outside? If you guys aren’t back out in like...an hour, I’ll know it worked!”

“I don’t know, bro.” Wicky and Ollie exchange a look.

“You know I’m just gonna follow you, anyway.” Dex crosses his arms. 

Ollie sighs. “He’s got a point, he will just do that.”

“Some things never change.” Wicky can’t help but chuckle. 

“Fine. But if you try to do anything that would hurt you, think of how sad it would make Chowder, and then DON’T do it.”

“Dude.” Dex gives Ollie a look, taken aback. “I would NEVER!”

“You guys…” Dex starts, voice hushed, inching closer to the pair as they cross through the treeline. The sanatorium is in full view, bathed in moonlight that gives the old concrete a sickly white glow. “This place is creepy as fuck.”

“It is creepy as FUCK, yes.” Ollie nods. 

“What kind of bet did you have with Ransom and Holster that was WORTH coming here if you lost?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Wicky swats in Dex’s direction.

“I’m WORRIED about it.” Dex’s voice strains, and Ollie shushes him.

“Keep it down, dude, don’t worry about it.” 

“Yeah.” Wicky smirks. “Otherwise you might wake the spirits.”

“Fuck you, dude, there are no spirits here.”

“Oh yeah?” Wicky’s smirk spreads. “How do you know?”

“I—”

“Both of you shut up or the spirits won’t be the thing you have to worry about.” Ollie whisper-yells as the trio reach the base of the stairs at the entrance to the building. 

“Oh shit.” Dex looks up, taking in the building facade. “This place is...creepy as fuck.”

“You good, man?” Ollie gives Dex a light bump. 

“Yeah, this is, just, A LOT.” Dex shifts uncomfortably, slinking over to the steps and taking a seat on the step farthest from the building’s entrance. “Guess I’ll...wait here?”

“You wanna hold onto the bat?” Ollie holds the bat out to Dex, who snatches it and pulls his to his chest.

“Good luck in there.” Dex offers as the pair head through the doorway and into the asylum proper.

“So.” Ollie says as he looks around. “Should we go right upstairs?”

“Normally I’d make a joke about buying me dinner first, but...I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’m so fucking nervous, Ol.” 

“I know, man.” Ollie closes his eyes, breathes out. He holds out a hand, and Wicky takes it. “Let’s do it.”

The trip up the stairs is over as quickly as it begins. Ollie barely has a chance to register that they’ve made it to the second floor, but the way the top step creaks as they come to a stop brings him back to reality.

“Here goes nothing?” Wicky gives Ollie’s hand a squeeze. 

They head straight ahead, down the hallway that’s started to feel so familiar to them. OIlie counts the doors as they walk, and neither he nor Wicky have to say anything when they hit the right door. Neither of them thinks to mention how weird it is that the door they left open the other night was shut again.

“Okay, this is it.”

“I...what do we do if this doesn’t work, Pace?” Ollie can’t fight back how nervous he is. Any confidence he had when they left the Haus was gone. 

“We figure it out in the morning, then.” Wicky grabs the doorknob with his free hand. He can feel Ollie squeeze his other hand, and he squeezes back as he throws the door open. 

Empty.

Wicky feels his stomach drop. He whips around as soon as Ollie’s hand leaves his. “Bro?”

“Fuck. Fuck, dude.” 

“Hey, Ollie, we can—”

“Let’s just go, man.” Ollie has already turned and begun to head down the hallway. 

“Wh-what? Hey! Wait up!” Wicky calls out, taking off after Ollie.

Ollie slows his pace just enough to let Wicky catch up. No matter how bad he’s feeling, he would never leave Wicky behind.

“Ollie, man, it’s okay!” Wicky reaches out to put a hand on Ollie’s shoulder as they head across the lobby of the sanatorium, but Ollie shrugs it off.

“Let’s just go, okay?” Ollie repeats. His voice sounds...sad. Much sadder than he’d like it to be.

The look Dex gives them as they exit the building hits him across the face.

“Hey, uh…you guys are still—”

“Drop it, Dex.” 

It’s not what Ollie WANTS to say...but it’s all he can manage to get out.

Ollie wakes up the next morning. He hates that he’s getting used to falling asleep on this couch. He HATES that he’s getting used to waking up on this couch. This isn’t his couch, it isn’t his Haus or his team or his world! 

Wicky exhales softly into the crook of Ollie’s neck, and Ollie instinctively tightens his grip on Wicky’s waist. It’s a desperate attempt at gripping onto the only thing he has, the only person that he can truly trust.

Fuck, how do they get out of this mess?

Ollie hisses as someone else in the room draws open the curtains, the light of the sun pours through and blinds him.

“You two aren’t dead, are ya?” Lardo puts her hands to her hips, gives the pair a look. The light hits her just the right way, she looks...angelic. For a second Ollie wonders if he and Wicky have really just been dead this whole time. That this whole ‘parallel universe’ thing is just a wacky metaphor for the afterlife.

No, that’s fucking stupid. ‘They were dead this whole time’ theories are stupid, almost as bad as ‘they were in a coma’ theories. Ollie remembers he and Wicky talking about that their first day here.

God, he couldn’t wait to get back home.

“Not yet, no, but someday, god willing.” Ollie manages to form a reply. He squints at her, partly from the sun and partly out of frustration from the rude awakening.

“God, if that ain’t a mood.” Lardo shakes her head. “Bitty asked me to check on you guys since you hadn’t woken up yet by the time he left for class. Apparently Dex told him you went back to the asylum last night and that it went….poorly?” 

Ollie grimaces as she ends her sentence, noting how carefully she chose her words. “Yeah, you could say that. Fuckin’ thanks for reminding me.”

“Oh, come on, you’re still here, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the whole issue.”

“No, dude, I mean you guys were able to make it out of there in one piece, right? A FEW of those missing person cases surrounding that place ended...not so great.”

Ollie hates how curious he is all of a sudden. “What-what do you mean?”

“Real quick, you guys didn’t go in the basement, right?”

Ollie knows Lardo...he doesn’t like how seriously she asks him that question.

“Nooooo? No, why?”

“Good, don’t.”

“Lards, what does that—”

“Just don’t check the basement, okay?”

There’s an awkward moment of silence as Wicky clears his throat, shifts in his spot on top of Ollie. 

“Lardo, have YOU been in the basement?” Ollie finally manages to get the question out.

“Oh, dude, FUCK no!” Lardo throws her hands up in front of her, shakes her head. “I’m not ready to die yet, dude!”

“What happen about a basement?” Wicky finally slurs out, clearly still half asleep. He exhales again, more a sigh than just letting out a breath. “We’re still here, aren’t we?”

“‘Fraid so, Pace.”

“Damn. I’m going back to bed.” 

“I take it the stuff you guys talked about with Shits didn’t help you find what you were looking for?” Lardo asks as she takes a seat in one of the chairs opposite the couch. 

“I mean...I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but—”

“Fucking nope!” Wicky interrupts. His voice is muffled, face buried in Ollie’s shirt.

“Yeah...not really.”

“Boys.” Lardo chuckles, shakes her head. “You guys should have known to come to me sooner.”

“Is this the part of the story where you tell us exactly what we need to try to turn things around? That the obvious hint was right under our noses this whole time?” Ollie doesn’t mean to sound impatient, but he can’t help it. He’s so fucking tired.

“You guys….have been talking to Johnson, haven’t you?”

“No? Should we have been?” 

“Never mind.” Lardo waves a hand dismissively. “Okay, look, maybe? I don’t know, I’ve never been part of some parallel universe conspiracy before...well, there WAS this one time in 7th grade, but, uh, that’s a story for another time.”

“Lardo, what are you going on about?” Ollie groans. He can feel a headache coming on.

“Sorry, okay, so you two have been back twice, right?”

“I swear to god, Ollie, if she says ‘third time’s a charm’ I will throw myself out the window.

“You’ll have to excuse him.” Ollie brings a hand up to pat Wicky’s back. “And me, for that matter. Lardo, please don’t fucking say ‘third time’s a charm’.”

“That’s not where I was going, but thanks for jumping to conclusions, guys.”

“Sorry, it’s just...it’s been a long few days.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine. I’ve apparently only come close to ending up where you guys ended up a few times.”

“Wait, what?” Wicky darts up, turns to look over at Lardo.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been in there a couple times! Shits and I scoped it out as a spot for kegsters AND places for hazings.”

“Oh my god.” 

“We didn’t DO any there!” Lardo crosses her arms, defensive. “We just...THOUGHT about it. That’s not the point! The point is we never ended up in some sort of weird alternate world.”

“So why us and not you?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it. Forgive me for asking a question that might be obvious, but HOW late did you guys go last night?”

“Uh, like, 10:30? 11?” 

“I think we were back before midnight.” Wicky adds. 

“Huh. How late did you guys go the night you ended up here?”

“Oh, late as fuck. Pace, it was like 1:30 or 2 in the morning, right?”

“Uh, fuck if I remember, but definitely after midnight. Definitely late as shit when we SHOULD have been in bed.”

“Oh fuck me.” Ollie groans again, resting his head on the arm of the couch.

“I think maybe you guys have been going back too early. Did any of the articles you guys read mention a specific time of day?”

“Can’t remember, we read a lot of them.” 

“It CAN’T be that simple.” Wicky shakes his head. He’s moved from lying on top of Ollie, settling at the end of the couch with Ollie’s feet in his lap. “No FUCKING way.”

“Of COURSE it can be.” Ollie throws his hands in the air. He glares at the ceiling of the living room like it just insulted his mom from across the ice. “That WOULD be our luck.”

“Look, I’m not SAYING it’s that,” Lardo closes her eyes, turns so she can drape her legs over the arm of the chair, like a queen on her throne, “Come to think of it, I remember a couple articles of people who had gone multiple times and only after going super late at night did something happen.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me.” 

“This is almost as bad as ‘third time’s a charm’.” Wicky sighs. He leans his elbow against the arm of the couch, rests his head in his hand. 

“It makes sense. You ever heard of the witching hour?”

“No?”

“The witching hour is a supposed time after midnight associated with, like, an increase in supernatural activity. Witches and ghosts are supposed to be at their most powerful.”

“Are you reading a fucking Wikipedia article?” Ollie looks over at Lardo, who has her phone in her hand.

“Hey, you want help or not?” Lardo looks up from her phone. She stops scrolling long enough to stick her tongue out at Ollie.

“Right, you’re right, fine.” Ollie sighs. 

“So what does it mean?” Wicky casts Ollie a glance before looking over at Lardo.

“It means you guys need to go after midnight, I think.”

“If it’s that easy I swear to god.” 

“Wicky, dude, if it’s that easy, we can go home tonight!” 

“Wait, SHIT! You’re right!”

“Lardo, dude, you’re the fucking best!” Ollie sits up now. He can feel the optimism return to him. Part of him wonders if it’s a bit...preemptive. But shit, how can he NOT be excited.

Lardo laughs. “Just remember that, y’know, when your Lardo needs something. We share a Lardo link, I’ll know if you don’t come through.”

“We wouldn’t dare.”

“That’s what all you hockey players say.” Lardo laughs again. “I hope this works out for you two. Get home to your friends, okay?”

“So, we’re really just gonna go out on a limb and try this again, aren’t we?”

Ollie looks over at Wicky. Looks from his boyfriend’s face, down to their hands, linked together as they come to a stop in front of the sanatorium for, hopefully, the last time.

“They DO say that the third time’s a charm.”

Wicky groans. “We’re really tempting fate with cliches, Ol?”

“Hey, if we got cursed the other night, we’ve been living it this whole time, what else could happen?”

“We go into the basement...apparently.” Wicky makes a face, remembering the conversation with Lardo. “Whatever THAT was about.”

“Right...uh.” Ollie clears his throat. “Should we go inside and see what happens?”

Wicky nods, and the pair make the climb up the steps.

As they cross the threshold and enter the building lobby, a familiar chill runs down their spines. Ollie would be lying if he said it was the same feeling as the first night before they woke up in this world, but it was for sure not like the last few times visiting since they got here. Maybe it was a good thing? A sign that they were closer than they’d been to this point? 

Fuck it, no turning back now.

“We know what room it is, right?” Wicky’s voice is shaky, and it echoes through the empty room. “Assuming it’s in the same spot each time?”

“Assuming, yeah.” 

“Guess we better get up there and see what happens.”

The trek upstairs is, well, hard to describe. It isn’t tense, but it isn’t effortless. The anticipation is palpable, overwhelming, it weighs with every step that Ollie and Wicky take. Each creak in the stairs is a reminder that, if they’ve played their cards right, they’re one step closer to going home. 

“Ollie.” Wicky starts as they reach the top of the stairs. “This is it. We’re so close, dude!”

“God, I hope so.” Ollie tightens his grip on Wicky’s hand. “Let’s get out of this place, man.”

The pair take the familiar steps straight ahead, entering the hallway that still felt so familiar, so daunting. With each step, the uneasy feeling that hit when they entered the building grows stronger. 

“I think we’re close.”

Wicky stops in his tracks, standing just to the side of the door.

Ollie sighs, reaching out. He grabs the door knob, something in his stomach churns. “I think you’re right.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Open the door!”

Ollie gives the handle a twist, mentally crosses his fingers and throws the door open.

Moth balls.

The familiar musty smell fills the air, and Ollie peers in. The very same room that has eluded them since day one now sits before them. Ollie coughs, waving his hand around to clear the dust from the air. 

“Oh shit, it worked!” Wicky wiggles his way past Ollie and into the room. “It worked!”

“Careful, Wicky.” Ollie says as he enters the room, looking around. “We don’t know what else this crazy place could do.”

“Right, shit.” Wicky stuffs his hands into his pockets. “So, uh, what now?”

“Well.” Ollie taps his chin. He turns, takes a few steps over to the desk. “I remember walking over to this desk and opening it up.” 

“So open that fucker up! Maybe that’s the very specific plot device that we need to do to get something to work!”

Ollie nods, grabs the handle to the desk cover and pulls, rolling the cover to the desk up. “And that was really it before shit went down.”

“Right, so uh...what now?” Wicky makes a face, walking over to Ollie’s side and taking his hand again. “We just, uh, do we just wait?”

“Fuck me, I KNEW this seemed too easy.” Ollie can’t help but feel stupid for believing this was all they needed to do. “We really did come all this way again just for nothing.”

“Oh, come on Ol, there’s gotta be more to it. The room is here, that same weird sickening feeling is back, we’re close.”

Ollie slams a hand on the desk with a groan. “This fucking SUCKS!” He can’t help himself, he drops to his knees in front of the desk.

“Bro, no, it’s—” Wicky kneels at Ollie’s side, pulls the man into his arms. “Come on, we made it this far. This can’t be it, dude.”

Ollie sighs, closes his eyes and presses into Wicky’s hug. “Man, I don’t know what we do now.”

“We keep trying? Like we always keep trying?” Wicky offers, but even he isn’t convinced at this point. 

“Mmm, maybe you’re right and we just...wait.” 

“Hey, Ollie, bro, wake up!”

Ollie groans, someone gives him a soft smack on the cheek. He cracks an eye open.

“Ollie!” Wicky scoops Ollie into his arms, pulls him close. 

“Where are we, man?” Ollie asks, voice groggy.

“We’re definitely back at the Haus.” 

“Shit.” Ollie sighs. “Guess last night was a bust, huh?”

“I don’t know, Ol… I just woke up and saw you next to me, I haven’t seen or heard anyone y—”

“GUYS!” 

Ollie and Wicky are interrupted by the sound of feet slamming on the floor. Chowder bursts into the room, rolls over the back of the couch and pulls them into a hug.

“You guys! YOU GUYS!”

“Chow, you already said that.” Ollie makes a face, confusion mixed with...hope?

“Where have you guys BEEN?!” Chowder shouts, tears already pricking the corners of his eyes. “I was so worried!”

“Chowder, easy, we’re right here.” Wicky shushes, patting Chowder on the back.

“But where have you guys been?! It’s been DAYS since you went to that creepy place in the woods. We were all worried sick!”

“Chow, you REALLY wouldn’t believe us if we told you.”

“I dunno, I’ve heard some stories.”

Ollie opens his mouth to reply, but the sound of more footsteps down the stairs cuts him off. Bitty, Shitty and Jack enter the room. Ollie is instantly reminded of the concept of deja vu, and how this eerily similar this felt to the other morning when he and Wicky woke up in a Haus that wasn’t theirs. 

“Guys! They’re back, look!” Chowder grins, tears streaking down his cheeks. 

“Where have y’all been?” Bitty joins the hug. “You both plain disappeared!”

“Like I was saying to Chowder, you guys really wouldn’t believe us if we told you.”

“C’mon, brahs, humor us.” Shitty butts into the conversation. “Glad to see you both back in one piece, by the way.”

“Pace?”

“Fuck it, we went through a hell of a time, might as well tell ‘em.”

“Right, uh, would you guys believe we went to a parallel universe?”

**Author's Note:**

> I maaaay have had this fic kicking around in a Doc since July when I worked on it for Nano camp. Felt Halloween was an appropriate enough time as any to drag it out and polish it up to post here. 
> 
> "Special Fangs" to my friends for the proofreading and emotional/creative support once again.


End file.
